Revisiting Jeremy Silman’s Imbalanced-Based Chess Thinking PART 2
After days of pondering about Silman’s thinking method, I slowly remembered important bits and pieces of it. But before anything else, let’s take a look at what a chess player is called to do when thinking the Silman way…
Take Note Of All The Imbalances – In a chess game, there are different major imbalances that exist at the same time. When formulating a plan, you should take note of all the imbalances…not just for your camp but for your opponent’s as well.
Determine Which Side Of The Board You Want To Play On – Queenside, center, or kingside – which side of the board are you going to play on? You should play on the side where a favorable imbalance exists.
Find The All Candidate Moves – Your chosen candidate moves should make use of the favorable imbalance you set your sights on or gives the possibility of creating one. You should make use of your position’s positive imbalances unless you’re forced to play a purely defensive move.
Calculate All The Moves – Yes, fellas! Calculation should come at the end of the thinking process. Not before you’ve found the plan to adopt.
A Little Correction To My Previous Posts…
I think I’ve made some mistakes in my previous post concerning the imbalances involved in IM Jeremy Silman’s thinking technique. Anyway, here’s a brief introduction to them and I’ll be taking on them in greater detail on the next posts on this series…
Superior Minor Piece – This pertains to the battle and interplay between the Bishops and Knights…how are you going to make your minor piece superior to the opponent’s?
Pawn Structure – This is one broad subject. Heck! Books have been written about pawn structures. But we’ll keep it simple and just take note of the important and most common pawn structures seen in play. They would be backward pawns, doubled pawns, isolated pawns, passed pawns, and that’s just to name a few.
Space – This pertains to your territory on the chess board. How far have your pieces and pawns gone from the chess equator? The same question should be asked concerning your opponent’s position.
Material – This means owning pieces that are valued greater than the other side. For example, having more pawns, having a Rook for a Knight, and the like.
Control Of A Key File And Square – Files, ranks, and diagonals – these act as pathways for your pieces. It’s not uncommon for masters and strong chess players to build plans that center on taking advantage of weak squares in the opponent’s camp or force to create one.
Development – This gives you more pieces…more firepower in a certain section of the board. This is a temporary imbalance and you should try to take advantage of it as the opponent will eventually catch up.
Initiative – This means dictating the tempo of the game. This is another temporary imbalance that you should take advantage of right away.
I guess that’s all for now. Hopefully, I’ll remember the details and principles about each imbalance correctly.
A Flawed Chess Game Of Mine
Ok, just to give you an idea of how much I suck as a chess player after years of no practice whatsoever, here’s a recent 5-minute game of mine…provided with some annotations. I was playing as Black and although I won, this game revealed my deficiencies as a chess player.
1. d4 b6
Well, I’m not a big student of the opening phase of chess. This defense, referred to as the English Defense and sometimes the Owen’s Defense, is one that I know a bit about. I’ve played it exclusively as Black no matter what White plays a couple of years back.
2. f4 Bb7
I’m not sure if White’s second move is a good one…but my instincts are telling me that it isn’t. I’m sure this guy knew right from the onset that I’m going to fianchetto my Bishop. Yet he intentionally kept the diagonal – h1-a8 open. The e4-square is especially weak since it can no longer be controlled by a pawn.
After this move, I developed my pieces and pawns to take advantage of this hole.
3. e3 f5
Another pawn move from White, which I don’t think contributes anything positive to his position. Why not a simple developing move that at least exerts some influence on the whole at e4…perhaps 3.Nc3? My pawn move on the other hand makes sure that the e4-square belongs to me. At the back of my head, however, I think it’s too committal.
The opening of the g8-a2 diagonal is my source of problems later on.
4. Qh5+ g6
Another useless move from White. He even gave my f8-Bishop a good square to develop on. What move would I recommend? Well, why not c4? This helps him advance his pawn to d5…blocking the b7-Bishop. And he can work on getting in e3-e4.
Again, I’m no expert. I’m not sure if this is the right plan.
5. Qd1 Nf6
Now, I’m ahead in development. And my pieces – Nf6 and Bb7, along with my f5-pawn concentrate on the hole left at e4.
6. Nf3 d6
White’s move is just as good as anything else. But I would prefer Nc3 instead…lending some control on the e4-square. My move on the other hand prepares to shift the Knight on d7 – making a c5 or e5 break possible. Opening the position is in my favor since I’m better developed.
7. b3 Nbd7
Yet another pawn move from White. As for me, I just made the expected developing move for my b8-Knight.
8. Bb5 Bg7
White pins my Knight – this makes the e5-break impossible. However, I think better would’ve been Bc4, which helps keep my king in the center for some time. On my turn, I just prepared castling and developed my f8-Bishop to the only sensible square.
9. a4 O-O
Yet another pawn move which doesn’t help his position.
10. Bc4+?! Kh8?
Better would’ve been castling for White. As you’ll see later, he never got the chance to get his King to safety. My move loses material! Saying that this is a 5-minute game is not a good excuse…the right move would’ve been …d5.
11. Ng5 d5
It’s just now that I can see the threat of …Ne6. My move is a little too late. White nets material no matter what happens.
12. Bd3 Qc8
White goes for safety first. However, better would’ve been Ne6 right away. Now, I have a chance to prepare the opening of lines. He may net material but I’m still ahead in development. There’s gotta be a way I can make my advantage count.
13. h4 c5
I’m not sure what’s with h4. Well, there are threats of h4-h5…attempting to bring the Rook in h1 to life. He has some developed pieces pointing on the Kingside but I think I can defend. And let’s keep this rule in mind – only attack on the flanks when you have the center under control. I have 2 pawn breaks that can open the position…that’s what I’m counting on. I was thinking of …Ng4 preparing …e5.
But it’s a 5 minute game!
14. c3 e5!?
White maintains the tension, but of course, here comes my second pawn break. This sacs a pawn with the hopes that somehow, the position will break open, giving my 2 developed Bishops some targets. I think it makes sense since I’m ahead in development.
15. dxe5 Ng4 16. Ne6 Ndxe5!?
This is what I had in mind when I played e5. I don’t think this is correct, but at least, I have 2 imbalances favoring me although I’m down in material – I have the bishop pair and a lead in development which calls for an open position.
17. Nxf8 Nxd3+ 18. Qxd3 Qxf8 19. Rg1?
Another error I believe. I think he should’ve gone for h5…his previous plan of attacking on the Kingside.
19…Re8 20. Ra2
I think better would’ve been the immediate …d4. I was looking for a wide open position…why didn’t I do it? Well, tactical deficiency I guess. However, I think my move would do just as well. White, on his turn, prepares Re2.
20…d4 21. cxd4 cxd4? 22. Re2 Nxe3?
On both occasions, I missed the simple win with …Be4! I was fixated with attacking and mating the King that I completely forgot to look for other options that would secure the victory far more easily.
23. Bxe3 dxe3 24. Rxe3 Rd8 25. Qe2 Bd4 26. Kf2? Re8 27. Kf1 Rxe3 28. Qd2 Ba6+ 0-1
It’s mate in 5 fellas! How? That’s up for you to find out.
BAD NEWS! My Chess Books Are Missing!
Now unlike many of you, I don’t have myriads of chess books in my library. I don’t have compendiums of opening manuals that cover every variation of the Sicilian Defense, Ruy Lopez, or French Defense. Matter of fact, I don’t have any opening book or manual!
HOWEVER, I can proudly say that the chess books I’ve chosen are of great quality and they provide hours of priceless chess instruction to the serious and improving player.
Re-Assess Your Chess Workbook – Written by world-famous International Master Jeremy Silman, this book will teach you Silman’s well-known imbalance-based way of thinking in chess.
After all, it’s a thinking game. Knowing how to make decisions and think right will make you a far stronger player than reading reams of opening theory.
How To Be A Deadly Chess Tactician – This one is written by a non-master but very strong tournament player David LeMoir. This one has helped me view a chess game and spot tactics and combinations like I haven’t before.
Attack With Tal – Tal has a special place in every chess player’s heart – master or amateur. This guy showed how to play daring, exciting, and speculative chess with his ‘unsound’ sacrifices which dismantled even the almighty Botvinnik! This is your chance to learn how to play and attack like Tal.
I can still remember reading through the games and the corresponding analysis and annotations without a board. It really strengthened my tactical vision and calculation skills.
How Good Is Your Chess & Test Your Chess – In my opinion, these 2 books focusing on move-prediction written by Grandmaster Daniel King go hand-in-hand with Silman’s workbook. These books will challenge you to predict the moves made by the likes of Kramnik, Kasparov, Korchnoi, Svidler, and others masters.
I went through the challenges of this book after getting used to Silman’s way of thinking. It helped me get about 80% of the moves and an overall increase in my playing strength!
These 5 books are all that I have in my VERY small chess library…and they’re all lost now unfortunately. How will I train and improve in chess now that my chess books are gone without a trace? That’s the BIGGEST question.
Chess Instruction Books - What’s In Your Chess Library?
Chess instruction books are all the rage these days! Just check out any online bookstore and you’re sure to find new chess book releases that will teach you…
- How to play the Sicilian
- A sharp opening repertoire for White
- A rock-solid defensive repertoire for Black
- Game collections of Tal, Fischer, Kasparov, and other masters
And the list goes on!
With almost every chess book promising you hours and hours of learning (and sometimes other books even claim to make you a better player in no time!), it’s hard for the average chess player to pick the chess instruction book that would suit him.
That’s especially true if you don’t have…say a personal chess trainer to guide you and find your achilles hills so to speak. So how do you choose your first set of chess instruction books that will help you improve the most?
Unfortunately, there is no definite answer…different chess players have different needs. Some may be fine attackers when they get a wide open and tactical position…but the very same players may be lagging behind the ’strategic’ play department.
Alternatively, you’ll find chess players who can smother you like Karpov…but loses the thread when they’re against someone who sacrifices like a maniac.
However, knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a chess player will surely help you in choosing the right chess instruction books for you. And that means you need to examine 15-20 of your games…in-depth and have someone stronger to look over them to pinpoint your strong and weakpoints.
Looking at my games and the thoughts that were running on my mind while playing them, I found that I’m a chess player who loves a lot of piece activity, loves dictating the tempo of the game even at the cost of a pawn or an exchange.
On the other hand, I hate and don’t know what to do when the position closes. Usually, I ran out of time thinking of a plan to follow…and there are times that I go nuts and sacrifice even if there is no sufficient compensation.
Yeah, I love pretending to be Tal! 
Knowing my strengths and weaknesses helped me pick my first chess books which are:
- Re-Assess Your Chess By Jeremy Silman (As mentioned earlier, I’m having a hard time thinking of a move or plan when there are no tactics around. This book helped me have a concrete thinking method which often times work for me.)
- Attack With Tal (Did I mention I love pretending to be Tal? If I had more time to spend on Chess I would’ve bought Vukovic’s attacking manual. This books introduces you to nice attacking concepts with annotated games to show you how chess masters do it.)
- How To Become A Deadly Chess Tactician (Another book on tactics! If you’re someone who knows how to spot tactics when they are on the board…but don’t know how to create opportunities and positions that support that tactical eye, this book will definitely help you.)
I coupled this with Nigel Davies’ Gambitteer 1 (For White) and 1.e4 For The Creative Attacker.
What about you? What’s in your chess library?
thewanderingpen
How To Pick Your Chess Openings
Long before a chess player heads to the chessboard, he is faced with truckloads of problems and questions that he must successfully answer.
“How do I pick my chess openings? What opening strategy or moves should I adapt?” These questions about chess openings are some of the reasons why wood-pushers spend sleepless nights…whether professional or amateur.
If you’re at a loss at how you should go about picking and forming your chess opening repertoire, then you definitely want to read on! Just like you, I was facing the same set of questions back in my early days of chess-playing. Fortunately, I was able to settle down with a chess opening repertoire that has served me well for years now.
Let’s take a look at the questions I asked for forming and choosing my repertoire:
Know Thyself
Looking through games of club-level and non-master chess players, it’s easy to see that majority of them try to ape the openings of great masters like Kasparov, Anand, Karpov, etc.
The result?
Sadly, many of their games are decided not by their choice of opening moves but by simple forks, skewers, pins, and other tactical devices. And worse, these grandmaster-wannabes are on the receiving end of those tactical blows!
Why?
Mainly because they don’t have the understanding necessary to use these chess openings (Sicilian Defense, French Defense, Ruy Lopez, etc.) to their full potential. Much worse, many of these openings don’t suit their style!
Yes, your play-style matters a lot in picking opening moves! True, there are chess players who could play the Sicilian Defense just as well as they could play the Caro Kann Defense. But such players are rare and oftentimes, they’re at the master-level.
Here’s what you should do – take a look at the last 15-20 games you played. And ask the following questions:
What openings did you play as White and as Black?
Did you play 1.e4 or 1.d4 as White?
How did you defend against the King and Queen’s pawn opening as black?
And more importantly, how did you feel about the positions that came up after both sides have developed? Are you jumping for joy when the position is full of tactics? Or do you feel at ease with closed positions where wisely maneuvering your pieces are the main priority?
As for the games you won, how did you win them? Is it by ripping open the position and launching a blistering attack against the enemy king? Or is it by out-maneuvering your opponent and strangling him slowly?
On the other hand, how did you lose the rest of the games? Is it because the position is too open and you can’t cope up with the tactics on the board? Or is it because the position is so closed and you were smothered?
Answering these questions will help you determine what kind of player you are. Roughly, there are 2 types of chess-players. Those who thrive on tactics and those who prefer a more strategic and slow approach.
If you think you’re a tactical player, choosing 1.e4 as White (and perhaps incorporating gambits and sharp openings like King’s Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Goring Gambit, etc.) is in order. True, there are sharp openings that arise from 1.d4 but usually, they result to closed games which are strategic in general.
As for defenses as Black, picking something along the lines of Sicilian Defense, Schliemann Counter-Gambit (against the Ruy Lopez), French Defense, and other counter-attacking openings is the priority.
Here are some recommendations for strategic players who prefer a slow-paced chess game:
White:
- Queen’s Gambit
- King’s Indian Attack (primarily against the French Defense but also works well against the Sicilian, Caro Kann, etc.)
- Ruy Lopez (against 1…e5)
Black:
- Caro Kann (against 1.e4)
- King’s Indian Defense (against 1.d4)
- Ruy Lopez (against 1.e4)
And that’s just to name a few!
Personally, I prefer tactical openings and gambits like:
- King’s Gambit
- Smith-Morra Gambit and Wing Gambit against the Sicilian
- Caro Kann Fantasy Variation (where White would sac the e4-pawn)
- French Wing Gambit
- Sicilian Defense (I almost always go for the …c5, …Nc6, …g6, and …Bg7 setup)
- Scandinavian Defense (I usually follow up the e4xd5 capture with …Nf6 and …c6 sacrificing a pawn)
